


Mirror, Mirror

by upquarkAO3



Series: S2 Finale Aftermath [1]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: "Let's Wing It!" Fic Exchange, But at least it's not the Devil's fault, Delayed again, Gen, Get by with a little help from our friends, Lil Bro is salt of the earth....and occasionally his vocabulary as well, Sometimes that means family, Wingfic, this time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-16 10:35:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11826942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upquarkAO3/pseuds/upquarkAO3
Summary: Dammit Lucifer.





	Mirror, Mirror

**Author's Note:**

  * For [titC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/titC/gifts).



> This lovely image 'twas the prompt done by lil' herself - intriguing shot by the intriguing writer. Hope my frizzled neurons did it some justice :-)  
> [link](https://titconao3.tumblr.com/post/161551181304/picture-taken-by-yours-truly-in-a-nice-museum)
> 
>  

The first blow was the worst, simply because it was unexpected. One second he was steeling himself for the most difficult discussion he'd ever anticipated having with a human and the next?

Spinning headlong into darkness and pain.

As whatever had hit him shoved him into something else, Lucifer shook with the impact. And not just because of the force itself _(such_ _power_ _wielded this was!)_ but of the image that accompanied the collision between himself and...himself?

_His face, young. His winged body, perfect and whole and resplendent in all the glory Heaven had ever intended for him. His affect; cocky and strident and yes, much like he could be now, but_ **_this_ ** _version was untried. Untarnished. Until the Fall began._

Another tremendous heave. Another impact. Another scene.

_Himself again, indeed his very self, blistering in the downdraft singularity where gravity held no candle to the intensity of descent. His light; all light gone and the loss was awful. The landing was far worse. Shunned against his will - his own_ **_free_ ** _will he'd struggled ever so long to claim - Lucifer stumbled to his feet as Hell's new Lord and cast his first glances upon the maw of this new domain._

The following blows were lessened in intensity but rapid-fire. And because of that, almost more painful. Their percussive stippling punctured into the very marrow of his divine bones and the sting of them crackled along his nerves, humming in caustic song. No balm for the displaced musician here; no comforting ungent forthcoming he well knew, oh no.

_Terrible screams splintered through the vast wastelands. Oh, they were his own? Eons away from the initial insult Lucifer could still hear them echoing in the duality of emptiness - his unwanted fiefdom and his heart._

_Then time out of mind (out of his mind?) spent forlorn, wandering, the hatred festering within becoming as bright and hot as the shifting sands beneath his feet. Then it turned to ice, far colder and stupefying until his heart froze enough to crack and shatter one final time before torpor of the worst sort set in, congealing the broken pieces in a resin of wrath within his chest. Frozen forever, unable to heal. Could there be anything worse than this?_

_Yes, he realized - alone._ **_He was_** ** _truly alone._ ** _As he'd_ _never_ _been. And would be ever on?_

_It was impossible_ _there could be anything worse - until something was._

_The first marred soul to land in Hell crumpled into a heap at his feet; he'd only ever seen beauty until this place. And now this warped, wretched thing mewling and groveling made the gorge rise and bile of disgust burn his aching throat. Then more of them...their compounding, cacophonic roar waxing on and on and_ **_on_** _...e_ _ver louder in a never-ending slew of the broken and the damned._

_Like him?_

"NO!"

Lucifer roared aloud, lunging erratically at whatever was striking him but failing to parry even one blow as he was blind to all but the unrelenting onslaught of imagery.

And both the hits and the impressions continued unabated; caught in a whirlwind calliope of mirrors, Lucifer met himself at every turn. Each blow was a blink into a new horror and he felt his limbs quaking under the weight of himself.

_The cacophony - it must stop._

_Shut them away - away unto themselves - this discord too much - make cells - let silence reign here as I must...._

"No, **no** stop...too much... no...I don't want this...help me. HELP ME!"

This last call was strident and strong; not a mere wail but the plaintive petition of one who has begun to learn true succor. Again.

And it came.

Blessedly, abruptly the blows ceased and the hideous nightmare stalled.

****

~ * ~

****

There was time uninterrupted enough for a breath before his mind ignited.

Time? Time was nothing. A joke, a farce, a reflection of intent - an illusion. Like the ones he'd just been forced to bear witness to? What were those memories to him now? Why was the pain of recall worse than when the events first occurred?

No, enough. ENOUGH.

He was stronger than this...had to be.

He was ancient and new.

And he wasn't alone. Not anymore.

_(...not in many ways...)_

But he no longer felt the heavy threat that had bludgeoned him so. Still, pain wracked him. Lingering.

Breathe.

Breathe again.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

 

~ * ~

 

Lucifer's first moments of true awareness are in a desert. Images still flood his mind but less forcefully. He doesn't know if they are memories or thoughts _(what he wants...is that even allowed - what he is afraid of, what might be happening in the skein of reality or his dreams?_ ). Growling, he cracks his eyelids against the whiteout glare before closing them again and licks at the painful corners of his mouth. His tongue skims over the dry, fissured skin and he grimaces at the taste of salt. The texture of the bitter grit.

He staggers up _(he'd fallen again?_ _again_ _??),_ feeling off-balance both mentally and physically.

His head still swims with a kaleidoscope of images, but he's able to sense his surroundings underneath them. The tilted carousel slows. The quilting of reality and thought begins to separate but the juxtaposition still makes him slightly nauseous.

_Amenadiel sitting on the edge of the penthouse balcony, eyes closed over a benign smile, restored wings lush and outstretched in the morning sunlight looking for all the world like a basking cormorant._

_His mother, formless and alone as she'd never wanted to be. He knew how that felt and through his resentment he ached._

_Uriel, crumpled bloody and broken under Azrael's sword. Then sneering taunts echoing off Hell's cell walls, forged by his own design. His slain brother's words a ricochet of staccato barbs biting into Lucifer's ears. Then further, down into his heart; as deep as the blade buried in the angel's chest by the Devil's traitorous hand. Things fallen in violence both; the weapon and the wielder._

He escapes that horror by opening his eyes wide. Tears stream from the corners and he is unsure whether it is from the physical discomfort of this strange place...or the other. He blinks and takes a deep breath. The acrid air is no relief, simply scouring the ache Uriel's loss brings. Lucifer winces, one hand going to his sternum. He screws his eyes shut against the pain and with darkness the images return anew.

_The Detective. No,_ **_Chloe_** _; her morning-sky eyes an aquifer that quenches his parched mind_. _Soothing him. Even here. But just like water she runs through his hands...clutching at a current doesn't make it stop. And it can't wash you clean if the sin is intrinsic. Like his? Like theirs? A flaw in the very design of all - why??_

He cringed, not wanting to think of his damage sullying her regardless of where it originated. Grateful instead for what he could have any way he could have it. And not just this one frail human counted herself his friend. Linda. He closed his eyes again and the images spooled out along the thin thread of his concerns.

_Oh, his dear damaged Doctor with Maze by her bedside, holding securely the small, strong hands and comforting her as he's never thought his demon capable. Her presence, well_ **_theirs_ ** _if he was being completely honest, such a safe place for him. Not comfortable always, but safe. But now she's broken, his Doctor is. He_ _broke_ _her...no,_ **_not_ ** _him. His broken mother had done that, and by his actions he'd abetted._

So, his fault. No absolution here or anywhere for that matter. He shakes his head against the Mobius strip of circumstance and it only makes the dull throb flare into bright, lancing pain. He claps his hands to his skull, grimacing.

"Blooooody hell. What the...?"

He hears an indistinct voice and spins to it, squinting through the blaze of sun reflecting off the rocks and whiting out his vision. He's livid. At this pain. At these reflections of memory. At whomever is torturing him. At himself of course _(as always)._

"Who are you?! What have you done to me?"

The voice is gravelly, amused. And speaking Aramaic? " **I've** done  nothing to you, other than keeping you safe. You never hurt me when we met here; why would I treat you differently?"

"Yeshua?!!"

"Who else? And in the pincushioned flesh as it were. Though at the moment your own looks a little worse for wear, brother dear. Classy."

Lucifer flicked a narrowed glance over at where his brother was perched on a boulder and blinked down at himself. He skimmed tentative hands over the sand-crusted rips and marls on his skin, trying to brush off without making it worse. Hissing in painful irritation he tried to cover his shock by retorting, "Well, at least I've still my trousers on so it must've not been so great a party. Not that YOU'D know anything about giving someone a good time."

The reply was coolly amused. "You might be right at that. After all the wine trick at Cana was a one off and stale loaves and dead fish aren't considered fantastic appetizers by anyone except park pigeons and zoo-cordoned sea lions."

Lucifer snorted, but his youngest brother wasn't finished yet. "Some party favors **you've** got there, though. And where the hell are your shoes?"

"Hah. Very funny." He paused, considering. "Pertinent question though, even if it smacks of smartarse."

"Well you know me. Never could resist poking the bear of status quo. Hmmm, sound like anyone else - present company included?"

Lucifer squinted over at him, growling as he kept on trying to brush sand from his tattered skin. "Really brother, now? NOW you think is a good time for sassing your elders?"

"Pot. Kettle." The words were sarcastic but the expression on his face and Yeshua's corresponding head tilt were fondly warm. "Anyhow, time is a relative thing - hah - didja get that? **Relative**? Especially here, though. Though still, it should not be wasted."

Lucifer petulantly decided not to notice the affection as he felt muddled enough already. But he cautiously rubbed at his face and then blinked a few more times before asking, "And what doltish nonsense, pray tell, are YOU wearing?"

Yeshua grinned widely and popped the overlay of his half-buttoned plaid shirt all the way open to reveal the comment tee underneath. "What, you mean this ol' thing? Just snatched it out of the proverbial closet."

Lucifer blinked again and finally took in the whole hippie-chic (and sorely missed) sight of his youngest sibling and then did a double-take. Yes, no mistake; he HAD read 'Jesus Saves' in psychedelic rainbow bubble-lettering on gray cotton. He groaned and muttered,' _you likely wouldn't say 'snatch' in that tone if you were IN the closet, cheeky little bastard.'_ under his breath. By the answering chuckle he knew his youngest brother had heard.

"It IS the truth, though."

"What, the closet thing? Reeeeeeaally. Well. You're more interesting than I've given you credit then. Explains so much what with gallivanting around Galilee in the company of your twelve-best-boyfriends ensemble."

"No, no, nopity nopers - shagging's **your** bag, not mine you dingle-dangling celestial Lothario."

Lucifer could've slapped himself for even snickering at Aramaic words spoken with a parody of Welsh-accented veneer, but it didn't quell the strangled giggle or two clotting deep in his throat. So much so that he nearly missed what was said next.

"I meant the 'save' part, you dope. You **were** in a bit of a fix before I pulled your feathers from the fray." Yeshua paused, weathered brow furrowing under loose curls. "Man, I always wished I could've had those, too. I feel cheated, really: it's not MY fault I was originally brought onto to this plane via my adopted mom. Guess they would've been hard to explain though...the whole 'virgin birth' thing was rough enough, I suppose. Humans get stuck on the weirdest social constructs sometimes."

Lucifer had gotten stuck a few sentences back. "Pardon? My...whatsit now?"

Yeshua sighed and ran a palm over his forehead before fixing his disheveled older brother with a weary look."Still have the problem with being oblivious I see. Well ta-dah! 'Savior' at your service here to help and all so...lemme just do what I do best." He rose to a stand and stretched before grinning cunningly.

"Whatever do you - HEY!" Lucifer all but squawked as the abrupt two-armed shove delivered to the center of his chest forced him to stagger backwards. Dizzy still and barefoot as he was he should have been knocked on his fine ass...but yet...was not. And clouds of dust surrounded them both as powerful downdrafts from... **?! his wings !?**...kept him upright.

"What?! What are...what the...? **Wings?** My wings are...?!"

Yeshua sat back down on his rock and examined the fingernails on his right hand instead of the enormous plumes erupting from Lucifer's back."Wow genius, nothing gets by you apparently. **_Jeee-zuzzzzz_ **." He quit fiddling around and fixed Lucifer with a measured stare and pointed words. "I'm almost embarrassed for you. On SO many levels."

Ignoring him, Lucifer spun in demented puppy circles trying to look at himself. He spluttered incredulously, "But I...but Maze...we...."

"But **God**?" Yeshua rolled his eyes and got up again to plant one tawny hand on Lucifer's shoulder. He pointed the index finger on the other skyward. "Dad's planned otherwise apparently; not like anyone listens."

"Not that he TALKS, you mean!" Lucifer bellowed. He was instantly enraged, not to mention confused...and resentful that despite it all he still felt himself softening at being with his favorite. It had been **_so_ ** long, but he felt too stirred up to appreciate it properly at the moment.

"Luce - no. **Sammy**. Hey now. Settle." Yeshua was the only one Lucifer had ever allowed to call him by this childhood nickname and the sound of it and the contact were disturbingly steadying. The warm gaze from brown eyes the exact shade of his own human ones even more so. He forced himself to hold still, practically vibrating in frustration as his brother spoke softly.

"Yes, it has been awhile since anyone's heard directly from Father - you're right. Ah, ah, ah...shush now," he gently bopped the tip of Lucifer's aquiline nose with his finger before continuing "...but this is something I understand. Remember, I did a lot of talking too, not that you'd know it now by many who say they follow my words. I mean, really - it's only been what? Like two thousand years? That's a damn scant drop in the sea of eternity and yet look what myopic pomp and circumstance bullshit they've decked simple stuff out with already. 'Love one another as I have loved you. Have faith in something larger than yourself. Forgive. Basically just don't be a fucking dick' - for Heaven's sake how difficult is that not to screw up, really? Cripes, those little wonders are exhausting."

Despite himself Lucifer started chuckling. Then the longstanding dam broke completely and he threw back his head to let the deep bell tones of his laughter ring out through the clear air of the desert.

It was all too perplexing NOT to react overtly to. Especially when one was in beloved company. Wheezing and struggling to catch his breath between mirthful paroxysms Lucifer felt strong arms embrace him _(prodigal wings and all)_ and the comforting sound of Yeshua's own giggles rumbling against his chest were a delight. He ducked to lean his cheek along Yeshua's soft hair and inhaled another steadying breath. This had always felt so easy. Even his brother's scent evoked childhood sweetness; all dusty sunshine and heart's delight. For a mere moment he allowed himself this sanctuary; allowed those long-standing staunch barriers to slip. But only a moment.

He pushed his brother off him, gently but firmly. "Enough already you ruddy imp. I'm apparently raw enough even without your grunge-era get-up flaying me further. And I'm not...." He paused, not able to even voice his long-ago name and tilted his head disapprovingly. "You know I'm just 'Lucifer' now. Not the other."

"All right. As you wish." The tone was slightly sad but the brown eyes gazing up into his own were kind and understanding.

"Is that a Princess Bride reference? How droll."

"Is that a snarky remark? How surprising."

They grinned at each other like the idiots they could be until Yeshua said more softly, "And of course it is. The reference I mean. I've missed you, brother."

Lucifer dealt with the onslaught of emotion with same degree of appropriateness he did all other challenging instances. Which is to say, nearly none. "Well, naturally. I mean, it IS me, after all."

"Such a tremendous ass, you are." The quip was soft but the pluck of one of his ruffled feathers was not and Lucifer should have been embarrassed by the yelp the little theft elicited but instead just punched a plaid-clad muscled shoulder.

"Have, you mean."

Yeshua rolled his eyes and twirled his downy prize tauntingly. "You're still so ridiculous. Honestly, I don't see  how she puts up with you. Must be a friggin' saint instead of a miracle baby."

Lucifer's thick brows nearly shot past his family still in Heaven.

His brother rolled his eyes even harder. "I WAS KIDDING, YOU INSUFFERABLE TWAT. And YES, I mean Chloe. For crying out loud, you don't think I kept current with everything else and yet would've missed out on your new hobby? Or the new playmate you share it with?" One corner of Yeshua's full mouth contorted craftily as he watched his brother spluttering.

"I don't - she's not like - we haven't even...uh...."

The glut of Lucifer's blurts were stemmed by a warm palm over his heart. "I know, brother. She's no shiny trinket to you - you love her." Yeshua bopped Lucifer's nose again to quell the reflexive retort he could _just feel_ brewing. "And high time **you** know that, too. So stop fighting with yourself over it. You've  never  done  anything  by halves so dithering is just foolish time wasted, right?"

Lucifer turned away and looked out over the acerbic landscape. With his eyes adjusted to the glare he took it all in properly. Just as when they'd spoken here long ago, such a sere, barren wasteland this still was. Intense. Unforgiving. As **he'd** been for ever so long. Until Chloe. Again her eyes came to mind. So clear and beautiful and her gaze ever his steady redoubt. Just as she was: whole and sovereign.

When he did speak it was soft, almost as if to himself though he knew Yeshua was listening to him. One of his few family members that always had; and despite their abrasive camaraderie it was reciprocal. He was unwilling to admit this to anyone (including himself), but he'd always adored this clever little upstart.

"I was on my way to see her actually, before this...", he gesticulated his hands through his words, weaving a Gordian knot of his current confusion, ".... **whatever it was** happened to me. To tell her- well, I  had been telling her. Never lied about who I am, mind."

Yeshua huffed and flicked his brother's ear. "No, you don't lie.  But. You're a hairsplitting conniver as it suits and so still don't always tell the whole truth either, now do you?"

Lucifer grinned toothily. "Nope." Popped 'p'. His smile flagged as uncertainty leached into his voice. "Right, so to _show_ her then, maybe."

"Erm. Well, you did go that route with your other human friend. Your 'doctor'. Interesting story, hers." Yeshua's gaze clouded for a moment but cleared again as he asked, "Yeah, but she fared better than expected, huh?"

Lucifer wondered about the pause, but decided not to muddy the dirty waters further. "Indeed she did eventually but it was a hard road traveled. I've Maze to thank for smoothing a great deal of it to be honest."

The grin his little brother suddenly sported looked a mite overzealous and Lucifer pursed his lip in irritation at the teasing lilt. One brother smitten with his demon was more than enough already, thanks much. "Ah, the cunning and beautiful Mazikeen. A delightful conundrum, that one."

"Rather." Lucifer shot Yeshua's appreciative smirk a scathing look of arch appraisement and his brother laughed.

He hit the plaid shoulder again for good measure. " Any way. Maybe not 'the whole kit and caboodle'." He swirled a scuffed hand in front of his face. "I was thinking just my eyes. My real ones? Linda prefers them when we speak in her office - says 'the authentic me' should be the one showing up in our sessions, so...."

"Ah. You mean your original models and not the fluorescent nightmares you freak other humans out with."

" _Yes_. Idiot."

Yeshua fended off another attempted slap, crossed his arms and cackled. "Well, you do have another show-and-tell piece of proof in your repertoire now. Two actually. Hell of a resurrection they are, and here I thought  **that** was all  my angle, angel." He looked cat-that-swallowed-the-canary pleased with himself and Lucifer groaned.

"Honestly, you think you're **_so_** amusing. It's terrible. Can't believe the great unwashed actually followed you around just to hear you yap."

His brother shrugged. "I know, right? Charisma, baby. I have it, you have it - not everyone in the family does though. Speaking of rubes, how is Amenadiel anyway?"

Lucifer chuckled softly and ran a hand through his hair, grimacing when a minor avalanche of dust and gravel showered his brows. "Better than he's been in a while I think, actually."

"That's good. He's gone a hard road."

"Huh. And steamrollered the rest of us along with most of the way, so...feh."

For a moment or two they went companionably quiet. Just thinking their separate thoughts in unexpected proximity until Lucifer broke the silence.

"So...?"

"So how did it come to be that I saved your skinny ass from the clearly dangerous predicament that you randomly found yourself in?"

"Um." For being master of all things tongue-related, silver and otherwise, Lucifer suddenly found his tied. And not in the good way. "Yes?"

Yeshua sighed and ran his hand over his forehead again. He scootched over a little bit and patted a spot on his rock. "Heel. Sit. Listen. And for me-sakes' tuck those things away; I don't wanna be smacked in the head with your almighty feather dusters."

Lucifer had to think for a second, then stretched them out to their full span and shook the remaining debris off. He tucked and closed them within his form, eerily nostalgic for that almost-forgotten phasing of physicality. Six years' worth of time in his long lifespan wasn't much, but their absence felt far longer. He'd have to think on _all that_ some more. Including that he didn't feel as bothered by their unanticipated return as he thought he ought to be. Well. Table that lil' gem for later.

He sat beside his brother and Yeshua started off as bluntly as he'd always done everything.

"When was the last time you remember seeing Azrael?"

Lucifer blanched. Then swallowed. "Er - up close and personal, you mean?"

"Uh-huh." Yeshua was studiously NOT looking in his direction at all, apparently fascinated once more by the cuticles of his right hand.

"Well, let's see now...." He pretended to think, but he knew _(and somehow he knew_ ** _his brother_** _knew as well)_ that he hadn't been close to the Angel of Death since that first day.

The day he'd dissociated himself fully from Samael.

The day he'd created her.

With a little help, of course.

_(thanks, mum)_

"Can't remember, huh?" Yeshua's head hadn't moved from where he'd canted it down over his knees. However, the baleful side-eye he'd fixed Lucifer with made the Devil remember all too well the raging lion's heart under the lamb's soft fleece.

If all else fails, go on the offensive. So he snipped, "The point of her wasn't so much to have ongoing interaction between us, as you may recall."

"Yeah, I imagine not. She's a pretty unpleasant character."

Yeshua's words were glacially cold, and Lucifer could hear the echoes of veiled but altered conversational topography under the weighted ice. He furrowed his brow for that as well as the name he'd mention next.

"Uriel said he'd taken her sword when she wasn't paying attention. He made it sound as if she were distracted, like." And then he waited, guarding slightly for the expected anger at the loss of their sibling.

His brother shifted to face him full-on for a moment and his gaze was steady. Not judging. Just evaluating. Lucifer did his best to balance the fulcrum of it with equal weight of his own, but he knew Yeshua could see _(as he could see most everything)_ the pain behind his eyes. Blessedly, he said nothing about it - just blew out a rude snort and smacked his older brother's leg.

"You're a fucking idiot. What do you think it would take to **_distract_** the Angel of Death, Lucifer? And how long do you think she'd tolerate having her only weapon missing without coming to look for it if she were able? Or track down whom she might consider responsible for that inconvenient little fact, hmm?"

Lucifer parried. "You're quite frightening when you're determined, you know."

"Huh. Haven't seen anything yet." His words were still harsh but Yeshua's tone and expression were somewhat mollified.

"Well I suppose not, seeing as we're all hinging on bated breath for you to show up once again. The Doomsday clock has been run by humans since the day you left."

His brother's shoulders slumped and he scrubbed his face in his hands. Exhaled. And then spoke wryly, "I'd rather wait. I'm  supposed  to for a while yet. They are making it rather difficult, though. Insisting on repeating the same lessons ad nauseum to more spectacularly messy ends. It's beyond frustrating."

Lucifer cocked his head and thought a bit before replying. "You know? I never truly saw what  you  did in them. Their potential. Nor understood Father's hopes for them to achieve it. Always sided more with Mum in that regard, though not to the same degree, of course. My long-established locale largely responsible for that perspective, obviously. But of late...well...."

He could feel the smirk brewing beside him and retorted before Yeshua could say anything else."Yes, yes, I know...you all love to prove me wrong every time the opportunity strikes."

He was surprised when Yeshua clasped his tattered hand with one of his own. The fimbrial embrace was warm and strong; as the bond with his baby brother had ever been.

"That's because you make it so easy, you myopic moron. So smart but SO STUPID when it comes to important matters sometimes. But that's okay; like I said earlier, 'Savior here in your service' so I'll help. And I will. Since you asked. Whether you like it or not. And no time like the present. You've been waylaid on an important visit so be on your way and mind the gap. Honestly, you're more frustrating than a whole continent of humans, but I love you. Now scram."

Lucifer didn't hear his brother's last words as he'd started to splutter in refute. Any forthcoming rebuke was stalled by the sharp pluck of Yeshua's fingertips on his forehead and with that sting came a sickening drop into a howling vortex. Images flashed briefly across Lucifer's mind's eye - swirling too fast to identify. But. Despite being unmolested this time, the sense of fear and foreboding lasted until he staggered clear of the maelstrom.

He blinked.

A clear, empty night full of artificial stars.

The hum of his adopted city barely audible underneath the vibrant strum of his heart.

He spun, sliding his hands down his chest, then casting his eyes the same direction.

Exhausted yes, dizzy more, but at least clothed as he'd been but he was - where? Ah. The parking alley behind the apartment where his demon, his miracle and her spawn resided. A gleam off to the side caught his eye - _bless_ \- his beloved coupe looked as unscathed as he now seemed to be. Tentatively he straightened himself to full height and flexed his back - these unbidden gifts transient as the flood of imagery perhaps?

No. Hidden as they were he could still feel their weight within. He shook his head, palmed his phone and looked at the time. Ah no - **late**. He simply discarded the umpteen messages Chloe had left after his voicemail; he was mere steps away now so no point in delving...wait what?

As he turned the corner to the stairwell he felt a breath of frigid wind whine past his left ear, followed quickly by a warm gust carrying one simple word upon it, _'_ _hurry'._

Feeling a rush of gratitude towards his little brother, he did just that. The recent mysteries would need to keep as dealing equivocally with the one before him had been delayed far too long already.

Coming to the familiar door he lifted his hand and looked up at the sky. In supplication? In thanks? In fear?

In all?

In awe.

He let his knuckles fall.

Just as he had.

Twice over.

Just as he had.

And then, seared with the twining of hope and fear, he waited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the ?fun? ('fun', sure. yeah we'll go with that word) of writing is being jossed. I guess ;-) 
> 
> My IP series 'In Absentia' actually has a different version of the characters (but similar relationship - obvie a close one - between Lucifer and Yeshua). And (written months ago) they're IN A DESERT, fer cryin' out loud and as the Azrael bit is will loom large in that story so I did not expand it here. But I like to play with different angles and since titC has some affinity for these two together as well, well. Here we are. 
> 
> FWIW; this (and the next in the series) is written from really scoured out headspace so hope it goes over okay enough :-)


End file.
